New Deal Europe weekly update on post Covid-19 travel, Week 9
News from the destinations: Romania
This week we turn the spotlight on Romania and chat with Daniel Gheorghiţă, Managing Partner of leading incoming operator, Covinnus Travel Ltd, about current tourism levels and challenges, and the opportunities Romania offers visitors now and in the future.
NDE: Hi Daniel and thanks for chatting with us today. Can you start by telling our readers something about Covinnus Travel and your place in the Romanian incoming market?
DG: Covinnus Travel is a boutique tour operator located in Bucharest. It was founded by three good friends who wanted to promote Romania and the surrounding countries in a different way, sustainable, more responsible. We organize small groups, between 2 and 6 travellers, sometimes larger.
NDE: Are there any border restrictions in place, or is the country totally open?
DG: Yes, there are. Each week the Romanian government publishes a list of the countries affected by the pandemic. The citizens of some of them, for instance, the USA, South Africa, Brazil or Israel, are required to place themselves in quarantine for 14 days once they reach Romania. The UK though is not included in this list at the moment.
NDE: Is anything different in Romania for the tourist right now?
DG: Yes, at this moment, since there is not much international tourism, the country is free and it is much easier to visit. I’d say that you can enjoy especially even the tourist attractions which usually are very crowded. Unfortunately, the reason that makes these places less crowded is at the same time the fact that travellers aren’t here to enjoy these experiences.
NDE: So when do you see travel returning in any numbers?
DG: For international tourism, not so much this year. Perhaps the next year, but even this date is directly linked to the discovery of a vaccine.
NDE: Are there any markets you are focusing on now to drive business to Romania?
DG: For us, the entire world is always a market. We target those travellers who put an accent on stories, on comfort which doesn’t necessarily mean luxury but rather hassle free travel, safety, and, probably the most important, authentic experiences. So it’s rather a niche of the people from all over the world which represents our focus.
We target those travellers who put an accent on stories, on comfort which doesn’t necessarily mean luxury but rather hassle free travel, safety, and, probably the most important, authentic experiences.
NDE: Can you give us some details of the programmes you want to promote for the UK and Ireland markets in particular?
DG: We have a tour called Treasures of Romania. This is designed especially for small groups, up to 5–6 people. It puts the foreign visitor in contact with the small guesthouse owner who can really provide the flavour of the local cuisine. It takes the traveller to the small craftsman who makes his or her wonderful carved spoons, amazing ceramics, or stunning painted eggs. During a tour like this a foreign visitor can enjoy an easy stroll in remote villages and can observe the real daily life, nothing staged. Many times they can be invited into the house of a local for a drink, most of the time the strong tuica/palinka! Sometimes, the locals have invited us to their courtyard to see the animals and at other times we have even taken part in local weddings or religious holidays. At the end of a tour, when we ask our travellers which was their favourite part, all of them mention these little things.
Yes, the fancy restaurants are nice, the comfort of a 5-star hotel is great, but always the simple and authentic experiences are far much better.
NDE: That’s full of local flavour. Are there any other experiences you offer that people can only do in Romania?
DG: I would say that rural life and the landscape are the main attractions you can enjoy in Romania.
We do tours in quite a few European countries and I think Romania has these wonderful locals who don’t have much, but they are always ready to invite us to their houses for a drink and a small chat. The warmth of the Romanians is an asset for the local tourism.
Also, rural life is still preserved very well in many parts of the country. Right after the fall of communism we suffered from an inferiority complex, and because of that we destroyed many of our little traditional houses and replaced them with big concrete houses. Luckily, after a while, the Romanians understood that this is a mistake and now there are many great small places where you can have stunning experiences.
NDE: If someone has been to Romania before, what are the innovations you have created to give them a different experience from last time?
DG: Romania might look like a small country on the map, but it is a place full of tourist attractions. We had groups who came back to Romania not twice but three or even four times. We are lucky, the country is very diverse and it’s very easy to offer them different things each time. One time the tour can focus on the cultural experience, the next time on outdoor activities, the third time on bird watching in the Danube Delta, and the fourth time it can be a photo tour.
NDE: And if someone has never been to Romania, what are the must see and must do things which should be on their list?
DG: As I already mentioned, it’s the rural life from Maramures, the villages from Transylvania, the beauty of the Carpathian Mountains, the medieval towns like Sibiu, Sighisoara or Brasov, the amazing Danube Delta, the unique fortified churches, the 500-year old exterior frescoes from Bucovina and the vivid life from bigger cities like Bucharest, Cluj Napoca or Timisoara.
NDE: Finally, what are your expectations for future travel? Where do you see the industry going in the coming years?
DG: We started our company because we understood that mass tourism can’t provide authentic experiences. We have nothing to comment against mass tourism, after all, many of our travellers end up in Romania this way, but we believe that this is the future — small groups focused on cultural experiences, rather than on visiting the same famous tourist landmarks in their thousands.
Questions by Robert Dee, co-founder of New Deal Europe, a travel forum and marketplace that brings together tour operators, tourist boards, and suppliers with a focus on the Balkan region of Europe, www.newdealeurope.com.
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